Liliʻuokalani's Cabinet ministers

The queen ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after the death of her brother Kalākaua, and inherited his cabinet ministers.

The ministers were ex-officio members of the House of Nobles in the legislature and the Privy Council of State, a larger body of advisors.

The Bayonet Constitution that Kalākaua had been compelled to sign in 1887 allowed the monarch to appoint the cabinet, but transferred the power of their removal to the legislature alone.

The new law allowed non-residents to vote, but economic and literacy restrictions disenfranchised a majority of Asians and native Hawaiians.

[3] The proposed constitution co-written by the queen and two legislators, Joseph Nāwahī and William Pūnohu White, would have restored the power to the monarchy, and voting rights to the disenfranchised population.